Adding to a batch of deals with major sports teams and sporting venues, Comcast has struck a multi-year technology and real estate agreement with the Atlanta Braves that will include the wiring up of SunTrust Park and its surrounding areas with multi-terabit network capabilities.
In addition to deploying an all-fiber network for the new ballpark and its nearby surroundings, the partnership also includes a nine-story, Comcast-branded tower office that will house a new innovation lab and serve as office space for more than 1,000 Comcast employees.
Comcast, the area's incumbent cable provider, said the resulting network, which will feature two datacenters equipped with 10,000 fiber connections and backed by dual 400 megawatt generators, will provide video, voice and high-speed Internet throughout the 60-acre project, which includes the new ballpark, retail shops, restaurants, a hotel, residential units, and the new office tower.
The Comcast tower will support mostly new positions and will be added after construction of the other portions of the project is complete in 2017. SunTrust Park is expected to be ready by Opening Day 2017.
"Our partnership with Comcast will keep us head-and-shoulders above other sports venues and mixed-use communities around the country and allow us to meet our fans’ high expectations for engagement, awareness and access,” Braves chairman Terry McGuirk said, in a statement.
"This is a truly unprecedented project and I can’t think of a better partner than the Braves, led by the visionary Terry McGuirk, as we bring record Internet speeds to fans, residents and businesses," added Comcast chairman and CEO Brian Roberts. "We’re also excited to make the community around SunTrust Park home to 1,000 of our employees as we continue to grow our technology team and develop innovative new products."
It marks another sports-facing deal for Comcast and its business services unit. The MSO recently announced it would equip LP Field, the home of the Tennessee Titans, with 1-Gig connectivity and on-site WiFi hotpots. Comcast Business has secured deals with other pro sports franchises, including the San Francisco 49ers,Denver Broncos, Jacksonville Jaguars, Boston Celtics, Oakland A’s, Boston Red Sox, Detroit Tigers and Atlanta Hawks.
